A/N: Tears are falling. The Haikyuu! fandom needs more love over here an .

I realized that there are actually many ways to interpret the meaning of flowers, but this is what I generally came up with: Gladiolus is an August birth flower that symbolizes strength, honor, remembrance, and sincerity. You can interpret this however you want.

Kingdom of Edelweiss – symbolizes daring, courage and noble purity.

Kingdom of Magnolia – symbolizes nobility, perseverance and love of nature

Honestly, the reason for all of these flower names was mainly because I couldn't find better names for places and such. Haha, feel free to ask questions though!

Magnolia

Magnolia was known for quite a number of sites, and the great castle was among the first few that stood out at the top of that list. The great wall of the Magnolian castle was high and sturdy, taller than even twice the height of the tallest guard tower in the kingdom. Along the outward side of the wall were designs created by none other than the residents of the main town—a town that stretched for miles and with even acres of farmland beyond that. Inside the castle walls stood a mighty castle that must have taken decades of renovations to finally look as it did.

A small girl with twin orange pigtails stalked behind a figure that was quietly tip-toeing his way down one of the many great hallways of the castle.

"Brother, brother! Where are you going today?" She suddenly asked.

The young boy jumped before turning around and kneeled down so that he was at eye level with the girl. "Shh! Natsu, if you speak so loudly, they're going to find out!" He whispered.

Then, he looked both ways down the hall before turning back to her, "I'm going to that place again. If you promise not to tell anyone, then I'll bring you back a souvenir, alright?"

The girl's face seemed to light up as she nodded vigorously. "Yes!" She accidentally said out loud, but quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

"Right. Shhhhhh" She whispered quietly.

The young boy grinned and petted her head gently. "Good girl."

"Good luck, big brother! I'll tell uncle and aunty that you went to the training barracks if they ask me where you are!"

The boy glanced over with a big grin and a quick "Thanks!" before scurrying off to the kitchen, where an entry and exit door for the servants was located.

This boy is Hinata Shouyou, the thirteen-year old crown prince of Magnolia. He often sneaks out by himself in order to 'explore' the outlands of his beloved kingdom. Honestly, his almost-daily excursions irritated all of the servant-residents of the castle to no end, because even with the large number of eyes inside of the castle, it did not seem to be enough to hold him back. But despite his obnoxiousness, the young prince always found a way to be forgiven. It could be because of the fact that he remembers each and every one of his servants' names as if it was the most casual task in the world, or maybe it was because of his casual cheeriness and his smile that seemed to bring light to even the darkest corners of the great castle.

And now, the young prince was once again sneaking off to one of his so-called 'adventures'.

He quickly snuck inside the kitchen and climbed up the stone wall to one of his favorite hiding places where he hid his usual clothing and sack, used whenever he went out for his adventures. After he changed into the clothing, he went inside the pantry to take one loaf of leftover bread and walked out of the backdoor that would lead him to the outside world.

The weather that day was absolutely perfect for his journey. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and it made Hinata wonder if anyone else who woke up early enough would notice that the color of the morning sky in Magnolia had the same color as the hydrangea that grew in the local flower garden that he frequented.

The short prince, now dressed in a simple long-sleeved tan shirt and brown trousers, stopped for a moment to admire the beauty of the world outside of the castle walls and sighed in content. This was particularly one of the reasons why he loved going out to explore.

But before he got too caught up with the thoughts of the outside world, Hinata decided that he should hurry to retrieve his horse from the flower field that lay a short distance beyond a short hill. During one of his many excursions, Hinata had purchased his own horse and trained it himself so that it would come to him whenever he whistled for it. He decided that the flower field beyond the hill would be the best place to hide his horse. The abandoned field was surrounded by a large perimeter of wooden fencing that could keep unwanted visitors out and keep his horse in one place. Since he figured that he wouldn't have enough time to tend to his horse all the time, he had entrusted one of the older village boys with his horse to ensure that it was well-fed and groomed.

He named his horse after one of his favorite flowers, Protea, which symbolizes diversity and courage. It was actually quite a befitting name for his spotted horse. Hinata had learned from the traveling horse merchant that Protea had had a harsh life before he got to where he was. The poor thing was only a baby calf when it was separated from his mother and brought to a traveling circus. There, he witnessed firsthand the cruelties of hard labor before he was dumped by the road after growing weak and sick from the mistreatment. Despite all of the hardships of an ever-changing environment, Protea had lived through all of it and grew even stronger and braver by the day. Touched beyond words, Hinata made the decision that if he was going to choose a horse, he would choose one that would appreciate companionship and compassion just as much as he would. And thus the name Protea, for all the astounding changes that the horse went through, and for the irreplaceable courage that it had obtained through those hardships.

After he saddled his horse, Hinata climbed on his companion and truly began his journey. He started off slow at first to adjust to the feeling of riding and to enjoy the scenery of the field that stretched for acres; then, he slowly sped up in order to reach his destination faster.

Hinata had often come to the town of Anthurium with his parents when he was younger. Anthurium was the alliance town between the two kingdoms, Edelweiss and Magnolia. Oftentimes, the leaders of both kingdoms would hold private meetings in the town to improve their relations as the co-rulers of the land of Karasuno, and to discuss trade as well as other issues.

The young prince had always enjoyed those trips. After the meetings were over, his father would always bring him to various places in the town and tell him stories about his younger years—something he never had the time to do when they were back at home.

Hinata explored the whole town, trying to remember what sort of things he used to do with his father. And when evening came, the young boy decided to head to the place his father had never failed to bring him to—the Hydrangea Lake. He followed an all-too-familiar path through the main road and stopped just as he reached the last lamplight. Then, he followed an almost-hidden side path, through the woods, and finally he saw a lake clearing.

The name of the lake was quite befitting for the scenery. Hydrangea was a name not only given to the lake for the numerous blue-violet flowers that grew in shrubs in the surrounding area—it also speaks of the beautiful clear waters and the blue rocks below that gave the shallow lake its color.

Swish….Ploop.

Hinata startled a little at the noise and finally noticed that there was a person standing in front of the lake. He watched as the boy stood there, gazing at the water with solemn eyes that seemed to look out far into the distance as he threw a stone into the water with gracious movements. Everything about him seemed so mesmerizing in that one moment. Hinata didn't even realize he started clapping until the boy turned around to look at him.

"That was amazing! I never knew that rocks could skip that far! Could you do it again?" he suddenly asked.

The boy stared at him, a frown slowly forming on his face.

Did he not want him to be there? But after a few moments, the boy just turned around and continued throwing.

Hinata smiled. Maybe it wasn't that he minded his presence after all.

They continued that way for a little while, with Hinata clapping for him every time he threw the stones. But soon, the boy grew tired and decided to sit down on a rock. Hinata, deciding that it would be too awkward to just stand there, sat down as well.

He sighed as he stared out at the lake, mesmerized by the beautiful scenery. The raven-haired boy next to him looked as if he was deep in thought, and whatever he must be thinking of didn't seem to be anything good. Hinata began to wonder, 'Why does the boy remind him so much of himself?' But he knew that even if he asked, the boy wouldn't know the answer either.

Hinata opted to just speak his mind, "You know..this is my favorite place to go whenever I'm feeling down. The scenery is rather calming."

The boy just continued to ignore him, staring into the distance. Hinata didn't mind though, knowing full well how it feels to just want to be left alone when everything in the world seemed to be crumbling around him. He was actually quite fond of this place, and he wouldn't mind sharing it at all.

"I'm glad you like it too." He said, thinking of all those times he would come here by himself to relive the memories he often tried to forget. It hurt too much to remember, but he couldn't let it all fade. And the boy seemed to be on the same train as him. "Well, at least it seems like you do."

Then, he let the memories flow in. His chest started to hurt, thinking of all those times when his father would bring him here. A few years ago, Hinata used to come to this place every day, trying to get away from reality and just live in his memories. But after a while, he finally stopped. He knew he had to move on, and eventually, he did. Still, he would come to Hydrangea Lake every year on the same day so he wouldn't forget. The memories of his dead parents were so precious to him.

A few years ago, on the same day, Hinata's parents had both passed away.

The king and queen had recently returned from one of their kingdom's oversea trade ports. Unfortunately, a new plague had been going on at that time and they arrived there at just the wrong time.

Hinata wasn't even able to say goodbye to his parents, having been given restrictions to not see them because of their sickness. It had all been too sudden for the young prince to handle. And for a while, he was in denial. He kept trying to tell everyone that the two corpses that lay in the coffins were not his parents, because there was just no way that his parents would fall to just a mere sickness. There was no way, right?

Shouyou continued to live within his memories. At first, locking himself in his own room and refusing to talk to anyone. Then, he started sneaking out by himself to various places to 'find' his parents. After several days of going through the same process, he finally realized that his parents were, in fact, dead.

When he finally decided to come out of his shell, Hinata realized that he wasn't the only one. During his parents' funeral, everyone came to mourn with him. Every family in the kingdom came to pay their respects and each brought Hinata and Natsu a gift to give them strength for their futures. With not only the help of his aunt and uncle, but also the citizens of his kingdom, Hinata was finally able to move on. Young Hinata had decided that day that he was going to live for the sake of those whom he loved: his baby sister Natsu, his aunt and uncle, and his people.

Hinata snapped out of his thoughts, realizing that he wasn't alone.

He suddenly made up his mind to tell the boy his story, "My parents died just a few years ago from a disease, but I guess memories are longer-lasting when you lose something important to you.. I was just thinking of the time when my mom told me a story about a young orphan boy who overcame all the challenges he faced despite of his loneliness. He went on a journey and met a lot of people who genuinely cared for him. And in the end..it was all because he didn't give up!"

The other boy stared at him and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

Hinata finally realized why the boy reminded him so much of himself. "Because you seemed really sad."

"Huh?" the boy answered.

Then, he opted to tell him, "The way you gazed out at the water—it seemed as if you were thinking of something really sad. That's why I thought I should share my story with you—to tell you that you shouldn't give up!"

Right, Hinata was only able to make it through in the past because he didn't give up. He wanted the boy, who reminded him so much of himself, to try to overcome his problems too!

But then the boy said, "'Not giving up' is easier said than done."

Hinata automatically took down that statement, knowing full well how tempting it was to just give everything up when he realized that his parents were dead, "But you won't know unless you try. Isn't it because you didn't try yet?"

The boy stared at him in shock, and after a few moments, he replied, "Tch. Yeah..you're right."

But before Hinata could continue, the boy looked at the setting sun and stood up. Without looking back, he just started to walk off.

Hinata stared at the boy curiously, wondering what exactly the boy was thinking of when he suddenly turned around and said "Thank you". And then he was gone.

Shouyou smiled a little to himself before he stood up and left as well. He left, thinking that the boy would be able to make it through just as he did.

And hopefully, he would be able to meet him again in the future.